When was the practice of alchemy at its best?

Answer 1

Alchemy was born in ancient Egypt, where the word Khem was used in reference to the fertility of the flood plains around the Nile. By 332 BC, Alexander the great had conquered Egypt. Greek philosophers became interested in the Egyptian ways. When Egypt was occupied by the Arabs in the 7th Century, they added 'al-' to the word Khemia and al-Khemia meaning 'the Black Land' is now seen as a possible origin for the word alchemy.

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Alchemy was also developed independently in China by Taoist monks. The monks pursued both the outer elixir and the inner elixir. Like China and Egypt, India developed alchemy independently. They had beliefs similar to the Chinese, in that they used external and internal methods to purify the body and prolong life. In their work the Indians invented steel and long before Bunsen and Kirchhoff's work, realized the importance of flame color in the identification of metals.

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The introduction of alchemy to the west came in the 8th Century when the Arabs brought it to Spain. From here it quickly spread to the rest of Europe. The Arabian belief was that metals are made up of Mercury and sulfur in varying proportions. Gold was seen as the perfect metal and all others were less perfect, an idea popular among western alchemists.

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So it was the Ancient Civilization: c. 2000BC, The Greeks and Romans: 600BC-500AD, The Medieval Period: Europe and the Islamic States: 500-1350AD, The Far East: c.1000AD, The Fall of Alchemy: c.1600-1700AD and Modern Alchemy which turned into chemistry.

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With the philosopher's stone, the alchemist would possess the power of a god, able to progress the transformation index at will. The philosopher's stone, also called the Red stone, was never found over the three hundred years that alchemists pursued it.